OPINION: From The Diary Of An Unconventional Kerala Bride

A couple of days back, during a random conversation on Kerala and weddings, I was asked, “You must have also been covered in gold for your wedding, no?”Although then, to her, I replied in a one word negative, I thought a lot about it later. I was an unconventional Kerala bride in terms of the accessories that I wore.

I don’t know when or how it was decided that I would be wearing just one necklace for my wedding. It wasn’t even a decision. For a person who had never worn any gaudy gold except for a very thin chain on her neck, two pair of studs on her ears, and a tiny speck of a diamond on the nose, it never made any sense to be overloaded with something I was not comfortable with on my wedding day. My parents too were never obsessed with gold and in fact, it was Achan (my father) who was more particular than me about how less gold I should be wearing for the wedding.

Because of this, the jewellery shopping was a breeze. After we bought my wedding saree, we walked into one of the popular jewellery shops in Madras and there it was, calling to us right from the display shelf. It blended well with my saree – the perfect match I could ever get. I fell in love with the necklace and earring instantly that it was a ‘pack it’ moment. We didn’t search for better options or a few more pieces before we decided on this. It took us a little more time to find the perfect pair of bangles and once we found that, our jewellery shopping for the wedding was over! A few days before the wedding, we had a fight though – my grandmother and my mother on one side and me on the other. My mother and grandmother wanted me to wear a hip chain for the wedding and I out-rightly rejected the idea since it wasn’t something I would ever use in my life again and it seemed like a waste of money. My mother stood by my grandmother when she said it was her wish and finally I gave in to the two most important women in my life. On one condition though – that I would choose it and it has to be plain.

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A couple of days back, during a random conversation on Kerala and weddings, I was asked, “You must have also been covered in gold for your wedding, no?”Although then, to her, I replied in a one word negative, I thought a lot about it later. I was an unconventional Kerala bride in terms of the accessories that I wore.

I don’t know when or how it was decided that I would be wearing just one necklace for my wedding. It wasn’t even a decision. For a person who had never worn any gaudy gold except for a very thin chain on her neck, two pair of studs on her ears, and a tiny speck of a diamond on the nose, it never made any sense to be overloaded with something I was not comfortable with on my wedding day. My parents too were never obsessed with gold and in fact, it was Achan (my father) who was more particular than me about how less gold I should be wearing for the wedding.

Because of this, the jewellery shopping was a breeze. After we bought my wedding saree, we walked into one of the popular jewellery shops in Madras and there it was, calling to us right from the display shelf. It blended well with my saree – the perfect match I could ever get. I fell in love with the necklace and earring instantly that it was a ‘pack it’ moment. We didn’t search for better options or a few more pieces before we decided on this. It took us a little more time to find the perfect pair of bangles and once we found that, our jewellery shopping for the wedding was over! A few days before the wedding, we had a fight though – my grandmother and my mother on one side and me on the other. My mother and grandmother wanted me to wear a hip chain for the wedding and I out-rightly rejected the idea since it wasn’t something I would ever use in my life again and it seemed like a waste of money. My mother stood by my grandmother when she said it was her wish and finally I gave in to the two most important women in my life. On one condition though – that I would choose it and it has to be plain.

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